Nightmare
by lightblue-Nymphadora
Summary: Tyler's having horrible nightmares. What do they mean? Tyler/Reid
1. Burning

_**LbN: This was the winner out of the Covenant fics on the poll. Happy reading!  
**_

Tyler closed his locker and dropped his swimming medal into his backpack. Slinging it over his shoulder, he scanned the hall Reid.

"Hey Ty!"

A group of girls were walking toward him. The one who spoke walked up to hug him.

"Hey Amy," he said, smiling. "You going home for the weekend?"

"Yeah, I need to go shopping. Plus my parents want to see me."

"That's cool." An arm wrapped around Tyler's waist, and he turned to see Reid. "Hey Reid. Tell them about the party," he said, grinning.

"It's gonna be off the hook!" Reid said. "We're thinking Grammy's meets prom minus the tuxes and dresses."

"Sounds awesome," Amy said. "Let me know when you have details."

"Sure thing," Tyler said. He waved as she walked away. Smiling at Reid, he said, "Possessive much?"

Reid stuck his tongue out at him. "You're a complete chick magnet even though you're gay. I'm just keeping the swarm away."

Tyler laughed as they got into his car. "Are you still coming over tomorrow?"

"Yeah. We've got major planning to do for your birthday!"

"First I've got to clear it with the parents," Tyler said.

Tyler's parents were the youngest of Ipswich and one of the youngest in all of the families. They were happy, and indulgent, and didn't feel the need to discipline at all. Thus, when Tyler straightened his tie and walked down to dinner with them, he was reasonably sure that they would be okay with his birthday party being in their backyard. He sat in the middle of the table and took a drink of water.

"How was your week?" his mom asked as she and Mr. Simms sat down.

"Fine," he said. "I finished my thesis draft. And I got my medal from the last meet."

"Good!" his dad said, passing the salad bowl to him. "We'll put it in your trophy case. Where's Reid tonight?"

"He's at his house. He's coming over in the morning. Or we might go out to Gorman's."

"Why are you going to Gorman's?"

"Just to say hi. We haven't been out there since Pogue ascended. We're planning my birthday party."

"What do you have in mind?" his mom asked.

"I was thinking…maybe I could have it here? Just outside, by the pool?"

"How many are we talking about?"

"That's what we're deciding tomorrow. Not too many."

"What do you think, Annalise?" his dad, looking across the table at Mrs. Simms.

"I think that would be okay," she said. "So long as we don't have hundreds of kids running around the house. And no alcohol—I don't want the cops coming for us."

"We'll keep it together, promise," Tyler said, laughing.

* * *

The rain started that night. Around 10:30, Tyler's butler knocked on his door.

"Young master Garwin is here to see you," he said.

"Thanks Alfred. Show him up please." Tyler smiled at his butler. When Mr. Simms had first told Tyler that he was to have his butler, Tyler was a seven-year-old comic book fan, & his only requirement had been that his dad find someone named Alfred. The man had been with him ever since. "Hey," Tyler said when Reid came in a moment later. "I thought you weren't coming until tomorrow."

"Dad's using again. I didn't want to be around it."

They played video games in the loft for about an hour before getting ready for bed. Tyler's head was splitting as he slid into bed next to Reid. He flinched when Reid clapped to turn the lights off.

"What's wrong?" Reid asked.

"Headache. I'm fine." He kissed him. "Goodnight."

"Night."

* * *

_Tyler walked through the woods. It was one of the lesser known paths of Ipswich, but he'd been here before. It was weird, everything looked different. The trees looked smaller—younger. He looked around and headed toward the town. He walked about a mile when he came to a clearing. He stopped dead. Across the clearing there were three people, each tied to a tree. He ran to them. Taking out his pocket knife, he cut through the chicken wire that was holding Reid to the small tree. "Reid," he said, catching his boyfriend as he fell._

"_You have to go," Reid said weakly. "You have to leave. They'll find you."_

"_It's going to be okay," Tyler said. "I'm going to get Pogue and Caleb down, and then I'll heal all of you."_

"_You have to run," Reid said._

_Before he could do anything else, he was pulled away from Reid. Two men, dressed in Pilgrim clothes, slammed him into a tree that was facing the others. Some more villagers were tying Reid back and splashing him and the other two with some kind of strong smelling liquid. He struggled, feeling the chicken wire cutting into his skin, as two men brought torches forward. A minister was reading from the Bible. They set the trees on fire, and came to him. Someone dumped a bucket of the oily substance on him. It ran into his eyes and the cuts in his skin and burned. He could still vaguely hear the minister in the background. A man thrust a torch into his stomach. He screamed._

* * *

Tyler opened his eyes. He was tingling all over, and sweating. He saw his dad looking down at him with concern. "Reid," he croaked finally. "Where's Reid?" He struggled to sit up and looked around, eyes wide.

"I'm right here," Reid said, sitting next to him.

Tyler pulled him into a hug, still breathing hard.

"What's wrong?" Reid asked softly. "What happened?"

"You were shaking all over," his dad said. "We couldn't wake you up."

Tyler explained the dream to them once he'd gotten his breath back.

His dad was quiet for a moment. "I'm sure it was just a nightmare," he said finally. "Do you feel okay?"

"Actually, I feel fine now," Tyler said, surprised. "I had a headache when I went to bed, but now it's gone."

His dad gave him an odd look for a moment, but simply ruffled his hair and said, "Sleep. I'm sure it's nothing. Good night boys."

_**LbN: Hope you liked it! Send reviews!**_


	2. Sinking

_**LbN: Sorry about the wait. Hectic week. Happy reading!  
**_

Tyler's eyes drooped. He'd had the same dream every night that weekend. He'd tried staying awake, but inevitably he'd fallen asleep every time. Then he'd have the nightmare and wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. Thus, it was a very sleep deprived Son of Ipswich that sat next to Reid for his last class of the day. He rubbed his forehead with the heal of his hand, trying to get his raging headache to go away as his teacher began their lesson. He copied equations for as long as he could, but finally his head sagged onto his desk.

* * *

_Tyler's head broke the surface of the water. He looked around and saw the other three swimming back to shore. He followed for a moment, but then he found he couldn't swim anymore. He froze, and began to shake violently. "Re—Reid…" he choked, trying to stay above water. He slipped beneath the surface, still shaking, and felt the water entering her lungs. He was drowning. He struggled to return to the surface, but he felt himself get tangled in something cold, slimy. He needed air. Sunlight faded as he sank deeper into the lake.  
_

* * *

Reid was halfway done with his drawing of an airplane when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Tyler was shaking, with growing intensity. Reid's eyes went black as he stopped time for everyone but the Sons of Ipswich.

"Reid!" Caleb yelled. "What—"

"Something's wrong with Tyler!" Reid said, catching his boyfriend as he fell out of his chair.

The other two ran over. "What's up?" Pogue asked.

"Shit, he fell asleep," Caleb said. "Listen, Reid, start time again. That way people'll see him and you can take him to the nurse." He pulled Pogue back across the aisle and nodded once they were seated.

Reid's eyes went black again, and after a moment, people were whispering and craning to see what was wrong.

"What's going on up there?" their teacher asked.

"Simms is having some kind of fit!" one of their classmates yelped.

By now, Tyler had stopped shaking. Reid helped him to a sitting position. "I gotcha, don't worry," he said quietly. "Taking him to the nurse, Teach," Reid said, pulling Tyler to his feet. "Let's go."

They got down the hall and Tyler grabbed Reid's arm. "Wait, I need a second."

"How you feeling?" Reid asked.

"Besides a little out of breath? Really good." Tyler stretched his arms. "I don't get it…"

"What's it feel like? You think it's a spell?"

"Nah. I've had a spell on me before, and this isn't it. I feel…like I do after I get out of the pool."

"Well, the teacher's going to want a nurse's report, so let's get there. I'll tell them you had a fit and call your dad."

Mr. Simms made it there in under ten minutes. "Tyler?"

"I'm okay, Dad," Tyler said.

"Well, I'm taking you home. We'll get him to a doctor," he told the nurse.

"Good," he said, passing Mr. Simms a paper. "I just need you to sign this release for you to take him home. Just bring back a doctor's note, and his absences will be excused."

"Thanks. Reid, get back to class."

"Call me later," Reid told him.

Tyler nodded and followed his dad out of the office. Their driver held the door open for them and they slid into the back of the Phantom. "I fell asleep during class."

"So I gathered from Reid's coded telephone call. I know you hate these dreams you're having, but it looks like they're not going to go away, so you'd better try to get as much sleep as you can at night. We'll tell them that your blood sugar dropped today. Was it the same dream?"

"No. It was different this time," Tyler said, then stopped as his dad's head whipped around to face him. "What? What's wrong?"

"Nothing…" his dad said, shaking his head.

"Dad, do you know what's going on?" Tyler asked.

"No."

"Then why'd you ask if my dream had changed? Did you expect it to?"

"What was the dream this time?"

Tyler glared at his dad, knowing the older warlock wasn't telling him something. "We were swimming—"

"We who?"

"The four of us. Me and Reid and Caleb and Pogue. We were out in the lake. And they started swimming for shore, and I tried to follow them, but I froze. Then started shaking. I tried to call for Reid, but I started choking on the water. And I sank."

"Did any of the other boys die in this one?"

"Don't know. I don't think so."

"So…drowning and being set on fire." His dad put an arm around his shoulders, but didn't meet his eyes. "It's probably just because you're so close to Ascending. When we get home, you get some sleep."

* * *

Tyler woke up to hushed, but harsh voices. He'd fallen asleep in one of the extra rooms on his parents half of the house, so they could check on him quickly. He quietly got out of bed and sat next to the cracked door. His eyes turned black, and he could hear perfectly what was being said downstairs. His parents were talking to the other parents.

"I'm not frightening my son out of his wits just because of your hunch, Bobby," his dad told Pogue's dad.

"It's more than a hunch, and you know it," Mr. Garwin said. "But fine, have it your way. Let him suffer for a few more days, struggling against this, until you're certain that he's the—"

"John," Mr. Perry said. "Adam's right. It's just a hunch. We have no way of knowing until the end of this week, at the soonest. Listen, Adam, just…tell him to relax. If we are right, then he needs to not fight these dreams."

As quietly as he could, Tyler grabbed his cell phone out of his backpack and crawled back into bed. After turning it on silent, he texted Reid.

**I need u 2 look sumthin up 4 me. Book of Damnation- Nightmares**

With a deep breath, he hit the "Send" button, hoping he'd figure out what their parents were keeping him in the dark about.

_**LbN: Hope you liked it! Send reviews!**_


	3. Winded

_**LbN: Sorry about the wait. I've been sick. Happy reading!**_

Reid came through spectacularly. That night, the Book materialized by Tyler's bed, with bookmarks indicating pages he should read. He didn't find anything that reminded him of what was happening to him. Frustrated, he went down to dinner. He was a bit taken aback when his mom wrapped him in a tight hug. When they pulled apart, he could tell she'd been crying. "Mother?"

"How are you feeling?" she asked quietly.

"I'm fine," he said, smiling. "Really, I woke up feeling great."

She looked, for a moment, as if she was going to cry again, but finally she nodded and sat down.

Tyler sat down as his dad walked in.

"How are you feeling?" Mr. Simms asked, patting him on the shoulder.

"Great, actually. The headache's gone…" Tyler trailed off, seeing the slightly panicked look his parents exchanged. "Guys…is something going on?"

"It's nothing," his dad said, trying to smile reassuringly. "But I have a question for you—Are you struggling during your dreams? Are you fighting to stay afloat?"

"Yeah?"

"Hmmm…if these don't go away, try staying relaxed. Let yourself get pulled under. Nothing bad will happen to you, I'm sure."

Tyler nodded, but said nothing. He started eating his ravioli, now certain that his parents knew more than they were letting on.

* * *

For the next couple of few days, he followed his father's advice. It did help a little. Instead of the panicked choking feeling, he felt only a vague anxiety as he died.

"You want me to stay up for a while?" Reid asked. It was Thursday night, but they had a three day weekend coming, so he could watch over Tyler if need be.

"Nah, I'm okay. The dream should change tonight, but it hasn't been bad."

"If you're sure," Reid shrugged and hugged him.

"Good night."

"Night Ty."

* * *

_Tyler leaned against a tree after kicking the rugby ball back to Caleb. They were playing in an open field that day, but they were leaving in a little while. After he'd caught his breath, he stated running across the field to the others, who were packing up. The wind picked up. Halfway across the field, he was having trouble walking against it, and his eyes were watering. Looking up, he saw three tornados coming toward him. He was lifted into the air. The wind knocked into his stomach, but he tried not to panic. As he spun around in the storm, he tried to stay calm, even as everything faded to black._

* * *

Tyler opened his eyes. The clock said 8:30—it was morning. He'd gotten a full night's sleep for once. He sat up, feeling great—epic even. He wanted to go do something energetic. Laser tag, for some reason, sounded fantastic. He grabbed his phone and dialed Caleb…

It turned out that Laser Tag was closed for repairs, but a few hours later Ty was _dominating _the paintball field. He'd single-handedly taken out the entire Blue Squad (10 people including Pogue and Caleb). Now he was lying face down in a bush, waiting to go capture the Orange Squad's flag. He waited until his teammates caused a distraction before running to grab the orange, paint-stained beach towel. He ran back down the hill to his base and rang the bell, signaling the end of the game.

* * *

When the four of them got to Tyler's house, they were surprised to find their parents there as well.

"Dad?" Tyler asked. "Is anything wrong?"

"Tyler," Mr. Garwin started.

"John!" Tyler's dad snapped. "He's mine. I'll talk to him."

"What's going on?" Caleb asked.

"Is there a Meeting?" Pogue asked. Meetings were between all of the families, when something was wrong.

"No," Mr. Perry said. "It's about Ty."

"Ty, we think…" his dad started. "We think we have an idea of what's happening to you."

"Really?" Tyler all but yelped. He dropped his bag and sat on the couch. "What?"

"How did you feel this morning?" his dad asked, taking the arm chair across from the four boys.

"Great," Tyler said. "Felt like I could strangle a mountain ox with my bare hands if I tried."

The adults exchanged knowing glances.

"What?" Tyler asked.

"Have you heard, or read, about Origins?"

"No…what are those?"

"They…well, they're…Just, remember that we're not sure if this is what's happening to you…"

"Though it probably is," Mr. Garwin said.

"John!" Mr. Perry snapped, before Tyler's dad could yell at the man.

"Guys, just tell me," Tyler said. "I promise I'll stay calm. Is it something bad? What's wrong with me?"

"Origins are heads of lines," Mr. Simms said. "They Ascend in stages, and are more powerful than other warlocks in their line. They're able to have more than one child, and some of their children are girls. The stages to their Ascension are marked by different…elemental manifestations…"

"What the hell's that?"

"Fire, Water, Wind, Earth and Magic. Sometimes it's hallucinations, sometimes they come as memories, and sometimes—"

"It's dreams," Tyler finished. "And I've had three of the five already…"

"Yes."

Tyler was quiet for a moment. He looked over at Reid, who was staring at their parents, shocked. Turning back to his dad, he asked. "So why didn't you just tell me? I mean, sure that's a lot of responsibility I guess, but it's not bad…Right?"

"If this is what's happening to you…it means a lot. You'll have to have children; whether you'd planned to or not. You'll also…have to move when you do start having them."

"But…our families have lived here for ages!"

"Yes, with only a few warlocks in this region. With you and the boys, there will be at least 10 children, plus the four of you, and us…assuming we last that long. That many magical beings in one place would attract attention."

"Okay," Tyler said, still trying to keep his promise and stay calm even though he was less than thrilled about having to move in the future. "Still, it's 2007, not the dark ages. We have transportation—we can visit one another. It's not the end of the world."

His father couldn't hide the pained look when he next spoke. "Yes…but, you don't understand how powerful you'll be. Caleb fights every day to not Use too much. If this is what you are…you'll be fighting every second. The temptation is tremendous. The oldest Origin ever, in the U.S. at least, only lived to be 50."

Tyler went numb. "What…what about outside the U.S.?" Suddenly, moving to England was looking like a fantastic idea.

"45."

Tyler staggered to his feet. His father, Reid, and Mr. Perry held out hands to catch him but he waved them off. "No…I'm…I need to be alone…" He stumbled out of the room, making his way to his wing of the house. He heard their parents stop Reid from chasing him and he was glad. He needed to think.

_**LbN: Hope you liked it! Send reviews!**_


	4. Ascending

_**LbN: Last chapter! Thanks for reading!**_

Tyler stayed in his room with the door locked for the next whole day. It was six o'clock before he emerged, looking refreshed if timid. He took Reid's hand as they walked downstairs.

"How are you?" Reid asked quietly.

"I'm okay," Tyler said, giving him a small smile. He looked at the other two, who were waiting at the bottom of the stairs for them. "Really."

"Come on," Pogue said, clearly relieved. "Our parents are flipping shit. And dinner's ready."

The meal was quiet—no, it was silent. The adults were obviously waiting for Tyler to make the first move, for which he was very grateful. He finished his dinner and his apple tart before clearing his throat. "I'm sorry if I scared you guys," he said. "I…it was a lot to process. I needed to be alone for a while."

"It's alright, Ty," Mr. Simms said.

"How are you feeling now?" Mrs. Simms asked.

"Good. Honestly. I'm…not looking forward to Ascending…" he gave a nervous chuckle. "But…if this is really what I am, then I can't change it. I'll just have to deal with it the best I can."

"Bravo," Mr. Perry said, smiling.

"Besides, I'm Ascending tonight, and I've only had three of the elements. We might be wrong." Looking around the table, he could tell no one bought that. That was a pity, because he wanted to believe it himself….

* * *

"Gotcha!" Tyler said, as his avatar sniped both Caleb and Mr. Garwin's avatars, winning a fourth round of Halo.

"Did you Use?" Caleb asked.

"No," Tyler said. "I never Use during video games."

Caleb said nothing but started setting up another round. The others, including the dads, looked around nervously at each other.

"Are you mad at me?" Tyler asked.

"I just don't think you're taking this seriously," Caleb snapped.

"I am."

"You didn't act like it downstairs. You're acting like this is no big deal."

"Caleb!" Reid snapped.

"He doesn't need you defending him," Caleb shot back, but he did pause for a moment and looked at their dads. The older warlocks looked bewildered and anxious, but didn't say anything. He continued. "This is real, Ty. And you're acting like this is going to be a regular, run-of-the-mill Ascension."

Tyler squirmed as Caleb continued to lecture him. Finally, he stood up. "I need some air," he mumbled, running from the room.

* * *

Reid waited until Tyler had left before throwing a small blast of power into Caleb. By small, it still meant that it sent the warlock flying into a wall, but it didn't truly hurt him.

"Reid!" the dads yelled.

When Reid spoke he was surprisingly calm and quiet, but the air was crackling with anger. "I'm going to need you to stop being an arrogant jackass," he said. "Stop. Picking. On. Him."

"He needs to—"

"Shut up," Reid said. "He's _scared_ Caleb! And he doesn't want us to know, because he doesn't want us to worry. He was just trying to be normal for the last few hours that he could be."

"I'm just trying to make him grow up."

"Well, he's not going to need help with that. He'll be growing up rather quickly in…35 minutes."

"I'm sorry," Caleb said. "I'm just worried about him."

"Really? Because I think you're jealous."

"Jealous?"

"Yeah, jealous that he's going to be the most powerful Son of Ipswich. He's taking your place and you can't handle it. If you could, you'd be more supportive. I'm going to find him. He shouldn't be alone this close to Ascending."

* * *

Tyler ran. He ran harder than he'd ever run before, vaulting over decaying fences, fleeing into the heart of Ipswich. Physically, he was feeling fantastic, but his head was spinning. He only had 30 minutes until it happened—until he became the source of magic for generations to come. But maybe if he ran fast enough, he could dodge it. Maybe the magic wouldn't find him. He didn't believe that anymore than he believed that he wasn't the Origin, but running—moving—was better than standing still. It was better than sitting and listening to Caleb, while he waited for his fate. So he ran. Even though he was only…20 minutes from Ascension. Even though the ground was muddy. Even though the trees were getting thicker and his running was becoming more of a frenzied scrambling. He ran.

* * *

"Tyler!" Reid called as he followed his boyfriend's footprints through the mud. "Tyler!"

"Jesus, how fast was he running?" Pogue asked.

"He'd just woken up a few hours ago," Caleb said. "He probably still had that energy left. The video games didn't get it out of him. Damn it, we only have 15 minutes."

"Fuck this shit!" Reid said. His eyes went black and he disappeared.

"Damn it, Reid!" Caleb called.

"Knock it off, Caleb," Pogue said. "Reid's right for once. You gotta get out of your own head, man. We only have 15 minutes. Use, for Christ's sake." He disappeared as well.

A moment later, Caleb had disappeared too.

* * *

Tyler tripped over something. Root, rock, he didn't know, but it sent him rolling down a small hill and into a creek. He scrambled back onto the bank, panting for a minute before passing out.

* * *

"Tyler!" Reid called. He ran down the bank, kneeling beside him. He rolled the youngest Son of Ipswich from his side to his back and wiped the mud from his face. Pogue and Caleb were beside him a second later. "He's out cold."

"Should we take him back to the house?" Caleb asked. "It might be dangerous to move him. Even if we all Use again, we might not get him back in time."

"He's shaking…" Reid said, anxiously. "Why is he fighting it? He'd been fine…"

"He's stressed," Pogue said. "He probably can't help it."

Caleb looked stricken at this. He knelt and pulled Tyler up so the younger warlock's head was resting in his lap, out of the mud.

"Five minutes," Reid said.

* * *

"_Dearly beloved…"_

_Tyler watched the crowd around him. He didn't understand. He was alive! There was no need for a funeral. He watched as Reid's tears fell on his glass coffin. "Don't cry," he said, but it echoed in the box. He listened. The minister's speech was slow and solemn and talked about a life cut short. Once he'd finished speaking, Reid, Pogue, and Caleb began to shovel dirt onto him. "No!" he shouted. His protests rang in his own ears, but didn't seem to reach theirs. They were done in a few minutes, and Tyler was left in a musky darkness. He didn't understand. Couldn't they see that he was awake? He was worried for a moment, and then shafts of light began to filter through the dirt. Ah, they'd realized. They were going to get him out. It was weird though. The light was coming in small shafts—as if they were poking holes in the dirt. And it was getting hot. Really hot. What the hell was going on? He was starting to hear a weird crackling sound too. More dirt was coming away now, and he could see bright flashes of light. The coffin was an oven. "Shit!" he said, struggling. "Let me out!" The bright flashes continued, blasting larger holes in the dirt. They began to strike the coffin now, and it rattled under the heat and pressure. He struggled harder, breaking out of the tight bandages that were holding his hands to the bottom of the coffin. He hit the top of it, burning his hand in the process. He knew what they were now, the flashes of light. It was lightning. "Help!" He called again. One bolt hit the coffin square in the middle, shattering the glass. Cut and burned, Tyler shook the glass off of him and inhaled the cool night air. Another bolt came down, striking him and tossing him into the air._

* * *

Caleb gently put Tyler down. Holding him wasn't working anymore.

"Ummm…Caleb?" Pogue said, showing the oldest his watch. The pair of them pulled Reid away.

"What the hell?" Reid yelled.

They didn't have to explain. In the distance, the town bell tolled 8:00. Tyler's eyes snapped open—wide and black. He gasped and a moment later was in the air, suspended by waves of raw magic. It lasted a minute, but it was different from the other three Ascensions. The magic was purple and red. It looked gentler than the other boys' had, but it still looked powerful—harsh. The magic spun Tyler in the air before he fell to the ground.

Reid approached him carefully and put a hand on his shoulder. "Ty?"

Ty looked at him, eyes still black. "I can't handle this," he said shakily. "My head hurts. My fingers are tingling."

"That's just after-effects of Ascension," Reid insisted. "You're okay. You're going to be fine; Origin or not."

"Water?"

"Huh?"

"Is there water?"

"Come on." Reid heaved him to his feet. With Caleb on Tyler's other side and Pogue leading the way with the flashlights, the helped the Origin back to the house.

With every step, the urge to Use subsided a little. Reid's words were ringing in his head. _You're going to be fine; Origin or not._ As they helped him back to the Simms Mansion, he couldn't help but trust his boyfriend. He knew, from the way he'd felt right after the Ascension, that this was going to be hard, but maybe it wouldn't be a nightmare.

**_LbN: Hope you liked it! I'm taking a break from my normal fandoms. There's a poll on my profile to vote for which fandom I'm going to adopt. I am, however, going to come back to this storyline in a sequel. There's more in store for Tyler and Reid. :)_**


End file.
